Thirty years after building an excavating company from the ground up, Bill Sheckler was facing an uncertain future. Right out of high school in 1978, Sheckler started Sheckler Excavating with a small bulldozer and single-axle truck. Slowly as he began to get more work moving earth for pond installation and housing development projects, his business and employee base grew. At its peak, the Waynesburg, Ohio, company employed 20 people. But then came the economic tumble in 2008. With the recession came fewer projects for Sheckler. He was forced to downsize the business and cut ties with all but five of his employees. His fortunes changed as the oil and natural gas industry began to develop the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio. “In September of 2011 we won a bid on a project that was our start,” said Sheckler. “With that project, we hired three employees and we’ve been hiring ever since.” The company is responsible for building approximately two padsites a month for Chesapeake Energy Corporation. It now has 19 full-time and three part-time employees, with plans to swell its ranks to approximately 35 by the end of 2013. “The oil and gas industry has brought life back to Carroll County,” said Sheckler. “It’s keeping us very busy!”
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:47:57 +0000
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